COMU J Mar Sci Fish Journal Home-Page: http://jmsf.dergi.comu.edu.tr 2020 3(2): 146-148 Online Submission: DOI: 10.46384/jmsf.814214 http://dergipark.gov.tr/jmsf

SHORT COMMUNICATION e-ISSN 2651-5326 KISA BİLDİRİ

Additional Record of Mediterranean Spearfish, belone Rafinesque, 1810 (Istiophoridae) from Izmir Bay (Northern Aegean Sea)

Okan Akyol Ege University Faculty of Fisheries 35440 Urla, İzmir, Turkey [email protected] Received: 21.10.2020 Accepted: 30.11.2020 Orcid 0000-0001-7738-2156

How to cite this article: Akyol, O., (2020). Additional record of Mediterranean spearfish, Tetrapturus belone Rafinesque, 1810 (Istiophoridae) from Izmir Bay (northern Aegean Sea). COMU J. Mar. Sci. Fish, 3(2): 146-148. DOI: 10.46384/jmsf.814214

Abstract: Tetrapturus belone is endemic to the Mediterranean and it is more common in central parts. It is considered very rare in the Levant. On 20 October 2020, a specimen of Tetrapturus belone with 176 cm Lower Jaw Fork Length (LJFL) and weighing 26 kg was captured by a trammel net from the coast of Karantina Island, Urla at a depth of 11 m. This is the second record of the epipelagic T. belone entering the shallow waters of İzmir Bay, nine years after its first record in the same area. This ichthyologic note presents a new occurrence of the Mediterranean spearfish as an incidental catch from the small scale fishery in a certain coastal area of Urla, Izmir Bay.

Keywords: , , Incidental Catch, Urla

İzmir Körfezi’nden (Kuzey Ege Denizi) Akdeniz Kılıcı’nın, Tetrapturus belone Rafinesque, 1810 (Istiophoridae) İlave Kaydı

Özet: Tetrapturus belone Akdeniz'e endemik bir türdür ve Akdeniz’in orta kısımlarda daha yaygındır. Levant'ta ise çok nadir kabul edilir. 20 Ekim 2020 tarihinde, Urla, Karantina Adası kıyılarında, 11 m derinlikte, 176 cm (26 kg) bir Tetrapturus belone örneği fanyalı ağla yakalanmıştır. Dokuz yıl önce, bu epipelajik balık, 2011 yılında İzmir Körfezi'nin sığ sularına girmişti. Şaşırtıcı bir şekilde 158 cm alt çene çatal boyu (LJFL)'na sahip bu balık, aynı alanda ve derinlikte ortaya çıkmış ve ayrıca bir fanyalı ağla yakalanmıştı. Bu ihtiyolojik not, Akdeniz kılıcının Urla'nın (İzmir Körfezi) belirli bir kıyı bölgesinde küçük ölçekli balıkçılıktan tesadüfi olarak yeni bir bulunuşunu sunmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Akdeniz kılıcı, Tesadüfi Av, Marlin, Urla

Introduction around Italy. There are no confirmed records from Mediterranean spearfish, Tetrapturus belone the Black Sea; and is considered very rare in the Rafinesque, 1810 is an epipelagic oceanic fast Levant (Nakamura, 1986; Golani et al., 2006; Froese swimmer in the upper 200 m, and it usually lives in & Pauly, 2019). However, T. belone is heavily fished pair (Golani, Öztürk & Başusta, 2006). It feeds on in Straits of Messina in August-September, fishes such as Belone belone, Sardinella aurita, occasionally in October-November (Nakamura, Engraulis encrasicolus (Romeo, Consoli, Castriota & 1986). Andaloro, 2009). Reported maximum length and weight for this are 240 cm TL and 70 kg, Short descriptive characters of T. belone are as respectively (Froese & Pauly, 2019). follows: body moderately slender, bill is short and round; it has two dorsal fins, the first has a long base, The spearfish is endemic to the Mediterranean its anterior lobe elevated and round; and it has also and it is more common in central parts, especially

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Additional Record of Mediterranean Spearfish, Tetrapturus belone Rafinesque, 1810 (Istiophoridae) from Izmir Bay (Northern Aegean Sea)

two anal fins; pectoral fins are very short, pelvic fins Material and Methods are twice as long; and colour is black, blue-black, On October 20, 2020, a specimen of Tetrapturus lower flanks and belly silvery (Nakamura, 1986; belone with a total length of 176 cm (26 kg) was Golani et al., 2006). captured by trammel net (72 mm stretched mesh size) Recently, the Mediterranean spearfish with 125 from the coast of Karantina Island, Urla cm total length was reported from the local fish (Coordinates: 38°22'247 N - 26° 47'377 E, Figure 1) market of Rhodes town on 13 February 2020, and it at a depth of 11 m. Following its capture, the was captured in Lardos Bay, east coast of Rhodes at a specimen of T. belone was sold at the fish auction by depth of 40 m (Corsini-Foka, Insacco & Zava, 2020). Urla Fishery Cooperative. Before the auction, major It is also found in the regions of the North-eastern meristic characteristics of the specimen were Aegean Sea, such as the Müsellim Strait and Izmir measured. LJFL (i.e. lower jaw fork length) and Bay (Akyol et al., 2005, 2013). The Mediterranean weight (kg) measurements were taken and the spearfish has been declared as “Least Concern (LC)” specimen was photographed (Figure 2). The species by IUCN, but little is known about its biology specimen was identified according to Nakamura and ecology (Collette & Heessen, 2015). This short (1986) and Golani et al. (2006). paper presents an additional record of the rare T. belone from Izmir Bay following its previous record nine years ago.

Figure 1. Map showing the capture site (black star) of Tetrapturus belone

Figure 2. Fresh Tetrapturus belone specimen, captured from İzmir Bay, northern Aegean Sea (Foto: O. Akyol)

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Akyol, COMU J Mar Sci Fish, 3(2): 146-148(2020)

Results and Discussion Collette, B. & Heessen, H. (2015). Tetrapturus belone. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Morphology and colour are in total agreement Species 2015:e.T170334A48680954. Accessed: with Nakamura (1986), Golani et al. (2006) and 20 Oct. 2020. Froese & Pauly (2019) and confirm the identification of the present specimen.Tetrapturus belone is very Corsini-Foka, M., Insacco, G. & Zava, B. (2020). rare both in the Adriatic and Levant, but more Occurrence of Tetrapturus belone Rafinesque, common in southern Italy (Dulcic & Soldo, 2004; 1810 in the waters of Rhodes, Eastern Golani et al., 2006; Romeo et al., 2009). In the Mediterranean. In: Gerovasileiou, V., Akyol, O., Aegean Sea, T. belone is occasionally observed in Al-Hosne, Z., Alshikh Rasheed, R., Ataç, E., pelagic gillnets and/or longlines. Recently Bello, G., Cetković, I., Corsini-Foka, M., a specimen caught by a beach-seine was reported Crocetta, F., Denitto, F., …& Zava, B. (2020). from Rhodes Island (Corsini-Foka et al., 2020). New records of rare species in the Mediterranean Another specimen (120 cm LJFL) was caught by Sea (May 2020). Mediterranean Marine Science, pelagic swordfish gillnet in Müsellim Strait (Edremit 21(2), 340-359. DOI: 10.12681/mms.22148 Bay, northern Aegean Sea) at a depth of 300 m on Dulcic, J. & Soldo, A. (2004). The Mediterranean June 13, 2002 (O. Akyol, unpublished data). spearfish, Tetrapturus belone Rafinesque, 1810, Interestingly, in 2011, a specimen with 158 cm LJFL in the Adriatic waters: new record and a review of had been caught in the shallow waters of Izmir Bay Adriatic records. Annales Series Historia by a trammel net in the same area and depth where Naturalis, 14, 45–48. the current specimen was caught. (Akyol, Aydın, Gülşahin & Kara, 2013). In addition, on March 30th, Froese, R. & Pauly, D. (2019). Fishbase. World Wide 2012, a specimen of Mediterranean spearfish (19 kg) Web Electronic Publication. [version 12/2019] was caught together with Remora osteochir (marlin http://www.fishbase.org/accessed: 20 Oct. 2020. sucker) off Fethiye (Southwest Turkey) by longline Golani, D., Öztürk, B. & Başusta, N. (2006). Fishes (Akyol, Ceyhan & Capapé, 2020). of the eastern Mediterranean, Turkish Marine In conclusion, this ichthyologic note presents a Research Foundation (Publication no.24), new occurrence of the Mediterranean spearfish as an İstanbul, Turkey. incidental catch from the small scale fishery in a certain coastal area of Urla, Izmir Bay. Distribution Nakamura, I. (1986). Tetrapturus belone. Pp. 1000- 1007. In: Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and range of T. belone will likely expand towards the Mediterranean. Whitehead, P.J.P, Bauchot, northern latitudes as a result of global warming and M.-L., Hureau, J.-C., Nielsen, J., & Tortonese, E. thus, incidental catches of this species will become (eds.). Vol. II. Paris, Unesco. more frequent in the near future. Romeo, T., Consoli, P., Castriota, L. & Andaloro, F. References (2009). An evaluation of resource partitioning between two billfish, Tetrapturus belone and Akyol, O., Erdem M., Ünal, V. & Ceyhan, T. (2005). Xiphias gladius, in the central Mediterranean Sea. Investigations on drift-net fishery for swordfish Journal of Marine Biological Association of the (Xiphias gladius L.) in the Aegean Sea. Turkish Journal of Veterinary and Sciences, 29, UK.,89,849–857. 1225-1231. DOI:10.1017/S0025315408002087

Akyol, O. & Ceyhan, T. (2012). Turkish driftnet fishery for Albacore, Thunnus alalunga (: Perciformes: ), and incidental catches in the eastern Mediterranean. Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria, 42, 131-135. DOI: 10.3750/AIP2011.42.2.06

Akyol, O., Aydın, I., Gülşahin, A. & Kara, A. (2013).

Records of three uncommon fishes from Izmir

Bay (Aegean Sea, Turkey). Journal of Applied

Ichthyology, 29, 925–926. DOI:10.1111/jai.12173

Akyol, O., Ceyhan, T. & Capape, C. (2020). The second record of marlin sucker, Remora osteochir (Echeneidae) from the Turkish waters (eastern Mediterranean Sea). FishTaxa 17, 12-14.

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